Former India captain and legendary spinner Bishan Singh Bedi has taken potshots at current India skipper Virat Kohli saying he has too much power in his hands and is “doing all he wants and we are letting it happen”. Bedi also spoke about the Kohli’s bitter spat with former coach Anil Kumble.
“That is what I am saying, one person (Virat Kohli) is doing all he wants and we are letting it happen. What would Anil (Kumble) have said, he was gracious to leave it like that,” Bedi was quoted as saying by India Today.
It may be recalled that Kumble stepped down in June 2017 following an “untenable” relationship with the current skipper. The leg-spinner also disclosed Kohli’s reservations about his “style” of functioning. Kumble quit a couple of days after India’s 180-run loss to Pakistan in the Champions Trophy final.
Kohli and his team had actually done well with Kumble as the head coach. The team won away Test series against West Indies 2-0 before winning against New Zealand (3-0), England (4-0), Bangladesh (1-0) and Australia (2-1) — though all at home. Under Kumble, Team India logged eight ODI victories and lost five.
Kumble’s exit saw Ravi Shastri donning the hat, but India went down both in South Africa and England. Though India did slightly well in the limited overs format, the longer format still looks a problem for the side.
With the tour Down Under about to start, India are facing a daunting task to win Test series there. India will play four Tests three ODIs and equal number of T20Is.
“The Indian team is good, we all know that but the same team went to England and South Africa and those teams were also ‘weak’. Yes the bans have happened on two kids (Steve Smith and David Warner) but a team is not made of two individuals. In fact, our team is made of one person, everything is about Kohli. The amount of focus there is, you don’t realise how much pressure you are putting on that kid (Kohli), both as a batsman and a captain,” Bedi added.
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